Breaking the Mould
by lustless envy
Summary: Ouran High School Host Club fanfic... basically something to help me struggle on so I will update it when I feel the need. No real pairing as of yet but this may change. Don't expect too much... writing isn't my thing and I've got a hell of a creative/writing block I need to climb over
1. Even the brightest stars may act dull

Tamaki sighed heavily. College was NOTHING like he'd expected. He had slumped forwards on his desk, his arms flung out before himself. Slowly, he glanced over his arm to look across at his best friend who was sat beside him. Kyouya was busy taking notes and working hard as always. Tamaki had taken business studies, wrongly mistaking it for fun, as both Kyouya and Haruhi had taken it. Unfortunately now he was regretting it. It wasn't that he found it difficult or that he was bad at it, quite on the contrary, he proved to have quite a knack for it... much to the annoyance of Kyouya and Haruhi who would often find themselves bugged by the bored Tamaki.

Today was no exception. "Kyouya... Pssst! Kyouya...!" he tried to get the youngest Ootari brother's attention. "Psst! Kyouya!" he tried harder, as blind as ever at the annoyance that he was causing his friend. "PSST! Kyouya!" he hissed through his teeth in an attempt to get his attention without being caught talking. "What!?" Kyouya finally snapped irritably. Tamaki hid behind his arm in the face of Kyouya's anger. "I'm bored..." he finally dared to utter. "If you're bored then get on with your work! Or take a nap! Or email someone! Just bother someone else instead of me!" Kyouya growled.

Tamaki puffed out his cheeks and frowned but he let Kyouya get back to work. With a pout and a a sigh, just in the off chance that Kyouya didn't notice his mood, Tamaki pulled out his mobile phone and started trying to find someone else to 'bother'. Surely there was a friend somewhere who wanted to spend time with him... wasn't there?

As though to answer his silent plea, an email came through on his phone. Kyouya glanced across, planning on 'shush'ing Tamaki because of his disruptive phone noises but stopped with his finger to his mouth as he saw the oddly serene and tender smile on his face. What or who had brought this on? Kyouya glanced across at Haruhi, wondering what she thought but by now she had mastered the difficult art of ignoring Tamaki. He looked back at Tamaki just in time to see his blonde friend rise from his chair and, just as silently, leave the room.

The look on Tamaki's face, the calm nature, the silence in which he had left the room and in that he had left alone... it all confused Kyouya no end and even worried him some.

It was only once Kyouya and Haruhi had met up with Hikaru and Kaoru for dinner, while waiting for Hunni and Mori that someone openly questioned Tamaki's whereabouts. "Anyone seen Tono today?" Hikaru asked as they spotted the still short and adorable blonde Hunni on the shoulders of the tall, dark, silent Mori walking towards them. "He was in class with us but I don't remember seeing him when we left." Haruhi said as Kaoru shook his head in response to his twins question though it was hardly needed as the two spent almost all their time together. "It's true, he was, but he got up and left in the middle of class after receiving an email." Kyouya filled them in on what he knew. "You guys talking about Tama-chan?" Hunni asked as and Mori caught up with them. Mori removed Hunni from his shoulders as the others nodded. "We saw Tama-chan just a few minutes ago, right Takashi? He was helping a girl out of a limousine and talking to her lots. We weren't close enough to see who she was but Tama-chan seemed to know her really well!" Hunni exclaimed. "They hugged." Mori clarified, as blunt as ever. "I wonder who she is?" Hikaru mused. "Maybe it's a secret girlfriend?" Kaoru added in the same tone. "Haruhi has competition?" Hunni asked innocently and all the guys instantly looked at the only girl in their group. "Well she's not very girly." Hikaru said. "She's kinda cold and even harsh towards Tono." Kaoru added. "She is always pushing him away." Kyouya agreed. "She makes up excuses to not do things with him like go to dinner." Hunni piped up. "Friend-zone." Mori said finally and they all nodded.

Haruhi looked at them in complete shock, "What? I'm not mean!... He's just a pain in the neck! It's not that i don't like him! But going out to dinner is too much for me to stand. I'd rather stay home." she uttered. "While I don't blame you in the slightest, do you think that Tamaki would stay around forever with such an attitude? Especially if someone is being nicer to him? Kyouya asked softly. Haruhi played with her fingers like she did when nervous, "I guess...but surely he'd tell me to my face." she uttered.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at one another and grinned, "Sounds like this needs investigating!" they chimed together with an air of mischievousness. "Fine... Investigate it all you want. I'm going to lunch." Haruhi grumbled as she walked off. The guys looked at one another. "Lunch does seem like a good idea." Kyouya said, following Haruhi. "I'm hungry and Takashi needs to eat to keep his strength up!" Hunni agreed, following Kyouya with Mori right behind him. The twins looked at each other before shrugging, "When in Rome," Hikaru started, "Do as the Romans do." Kaoru finished and the two hurried after their friends, all thoughts of Tamaki and whoever had peaked his interest gone from mind for now.

Once they were all seated and eating in the college's canteen, the talk turned towards things they had done that day or that they wanted to do later or other classes they had to take. The usual basic talk. Only without Tamaki the conversation didn't really last long and soon dried up. Fortunately it didn't last too long. "HEY Guys! Sorry I'm late!" Tamaki said hurrying over to them with a huge grin. His smile was short lived though as everyone at the table outright ignored him. Tamaki pouted and sat down, "Hey i said i was sorry." he whimpered as he poked at his omelette with his puppy-dog eyes staring at his meal now. When he looked up he found everyone glaring at him. "And what, pray tell, makes you think we will accept you back when you so happy and casually ditched us?" Kyouya asked with a forced fake smile that made Tamaki shrink in his seat. "B..because.. I was greeting my friend Vivi... and she needed help getting to her apartment." Tamaki whimpered from behind the table, his eyes just peeking over the edge.

Haruhi sighed and picked at her food again, "Then next time, how about saying something to someone before going off hu?" she said as she took a bite. "I was going to, trust me Haruhi! But... Kyouya was getting annoyed with me trying to get his attention... so I didn't want to bother anyone..." he uttered. "So, when do we get to meet her?" Hunni asked eagerly, already forgiving him in the excitement of the possibility of meeting someone new.

"Well she's not exactly settled in yet but I guess you could meet her tonight. I'm going over to help her finish unpacking after my final lesson today." Tamaki explained with a smile, recovering from the animosity towards him before. "Well I'm interested in meeting this mystery woman." Kyouya said. "Count me in! And Takashi too!" Hunni chimed in. "Guess it wouldn't hurt and I've nothing better to do." Haruhi shrugged, "Well we might as well tag along too." Hikaru said, Kaoru wasn't so keen but silently agreed to attend. "Then its settled. We'll all go and meet ms. Vivi after the final lesson." Kyouya said with a sly grin that made Tamaki feel nervous. Not that he could have possibly been able to say anything at all once everyone else had decided on it so all he could do was to sit and silently pick at his lunch and worry about the meeting between his friends and Vivi.

The group talked openly about what 'Vivi' would be like. It was finally decided that she would be tall like a model and wear a reasonable amount of makeup. She'd have light brown hair that was long and always tied up. She'd have brown eyes and glasses and maybe a few freckles. She'd have AMAZING fashion sense and would be quite the socialite. Though they agreed she was probably something of an airhead. And all these guesses were based upon the single fact that Tamaki was, apparently, a good friend of hers.

The thoughts continued through the last class of the day, which dragged like nothing else but came far too quickly for Tamaki's liking, resulting in an exasperated sigh from the tall blonde as the bell ended the college day. "Erm... I was thinking... It'd be a bit rude for us to all turn up without warning so... so how about you guys go back to your own rooms, drop your bags off and get changed or something?" Tamaki asked openly, trying to buy more time. No one took any notice of what he said until Kyouya repeated it, "I know, how about we go back to our respective apartments, drop our bags off, get changed and generally freshen up? We can meet up with Tamaki afterwards and then head over to meet his friend." Kyouya suggested. At Kyouya's suggestion the group agreed unanimously and departed, deciding to meet in front of the apartment block after half an hour or so. Tamaki waited until they had all gone inside their respective buildings before running off across the courtyard towards the building at the far end.

The building in question was built specifically for the rich and famous students who had come to study at the college and university. He showed his I.D. card to the door man and he let Tamaki in, bowing as he opened the door with a tip of his hat. Tamaki bowed slightly in response but bolted up the stairs as fast as he could towards the penthouse suite as fast as his legs would carry him, in order to warn his friend that his fellow friends would be joining them.

After the suggested half an hour the group gathered in front of the fountain in the middle of the courtyard which the apartment buildings surrounded. Finally, fifteen minutes late, Tamaki came jogging over. "Hey! Sorry I'm late!" he panted. "Took you long enough." Hikaru said, "Yeah we were getting bored." his twin agreed. "Well now we're all here lets go!" Hunni exclaimed excitedly. Tamaki nodded, wiping his brow with the back to his hand and started off back the way he'd came. He went slowly, much to the annoyance of his friends though they grumbled to themselves rather than voice their annoyance... or rather they all did bar the twins who were happier voicing their boredom.


	2. Up, up and away with the faries!

Tamaki slowly lead them inside, past the doorman, and over to the elevator. Once they were all inside he sighed and pressed the last digit on the control panel and the elevator started lifting them up, up, up, right to the top floor. Tamaki sighed as they walked along the short corridor to the only door that lead off it. Looking back they could see the elegant spiral staircase that lead down to the lobby. Beside the door stood a guard who saluted at them as they approach. "Now, don't expect much... Miss Vivi is quite shy. She's used to just speaking French or English so don't talk all at once if you plan on only speaking Japanese." Tamaki tried to warn them. "I knew we should have taken conversational French." Hikaru whispered loudly to Haruhi who just rolled her eyes and followed the others through the door that the guard held open for them.

Inside the huge entrance was bright as natural light spilled in through two stained glass windows and flooded the whole place. Tamaki went towards a door that lead off and knocked before a gentle and melodic voice answered with a softly spoken 'Enter', spoken in English. Tamaki gave his friends a weak smile before going into the room.

"Tama? I'm so glad you came back! And so quickly too!" the voice came from a woman of around the same age as Haruhi and the twins. She was petite and quite fragile looking with soft long light blonde hair that fell down just below her waist. She had very light pale blue eyes that seemed to emphasise her pale complexion though her lips were full and blood red. Currently, she was sat on a chemise and had on a cute knee length skirt in white and black, a red sweet heart halter neck top and a small white cardigan or shall with a black trim made from silk. She had a pair of delicate white gloves on her hands and a red ribbon in her hair and a pair of white and red polka dot pumps on to finish off the look.

Tamaki walked straight over to the girl and knelt down before her, gently taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. Since entering the room she had stared at the group stood in the doorway and only pulled her eyes away and took notice of Tamaki when he kissed her hand. She smiled graciously at him as he spoke, "But of course! I am here to assist and aid you my dear Vivi." he replied to her comment. "If that's not devotion, I don't know what is." Hikaru muttered and his brother nodded furiously. Hunni took a deep breath and walked over towards Tamaki and Vivi. "Wow vivi-chan! You're so cute! Just like a doll!" he exclaimed. A light blush tinted her cheeks for a moment. "Why, thankyou..." she uttered.

"Oh forgive me! Where are my manners?" Tamaki said standing up. "Vivi, these are my dear friends I told you about. This is Hunni-Senpai." he paused as vivi offered her hand and Hunni shook it gently. "This is my best friend, Kyouya." again he paused as Kyouya stepped forward and gently shook her hand, "I pleasure to meet you, miss." he said. "Like wise." Vivi replied. "This is Mori-Senpai." as before, he paused so Mori could shake her hand. Haruhi thought it odd that she only looked at people when they spoke or took her hand. "This is Hikaru..." Tamaki went on as Hikaru shook her hand. "And this is Kaoru. They're the twins." Tamaki said. "but I assure you my brother and I are nothing alike." Kaoru joked as he shook her hand. "So i can see, Kaoru-san...you're nothing alike." she beamed. Kaoru dropped her hand as he felt himself blush.

"And this is Haruhi." Tamaki finished. "Pleased to meet you." Haruhi said shaking her hand too. "My! What a beautiful young woman Tamaki!" ivi exclaimed, making Haruhi blush. "H...how did you know?" she asked. "How did I know what?" Vivi asked looking confused. "How did you know I'm a girl?" Haruhi asked. "Well... It's kind of obvious to me. I didn't offend you did I?" Vivi asked, her smile falling. "Oh no, not at all! It's just that people usually have trouble deciding if I'm a girl or a boy... For most of my high school life I was mistaken for a boy." Haruhi explained. "How does a person mistake one so pretty as a dude?" Vivi asked, turning her head to look at Tamaki. Haruhi watched her closely as she did this, frowning slightly. "Most girls back home have long hair so the short style and flat chest fool them." Tamaki explained honestly.

"Well, we should probably be leaving now Viv, I'll be back around dinner time to see you again ok?" Tamaki said, pushing the twins out as they were now very bored and touching EVERYTHING to see if it would wobble. "Pleasure meeting you Miss Vivi!" Haruhi said following the twins. "We'll come play again soon ok?" Hunni said going to the door. "Yes, I'd like that Hunni-senpai. All of you are welcome back whenever you like." she smiled. Kyouya closed the door behind them and they all went back down in the elevator, chatting about the strange girl... all except for Tamaki and Haruhi... oh and Mori who doesn't say much but rather gets spoken to by Hunni. Once out of the building they all headed back to their own respective blocks and apartments.

Haruhi linked her arm with Tamaki and dragged him off out of the way and into an alley way. "Ok! Spill it!" she demanded. Tamaki looked at her in silent surprise then became all excitable... as usual when alone with Haruhi, "I know you want me to tell you again how much I love you Haruhi, but I'm not afraid to do so in public." he chuckled, starting to walk back out of the alley way that Haruhi had dragged him into. Haruhi caught his arm and pushed him back. "I said SPILL it!" she snapped. "What's up with that girl?!" she demanded, her hands on her hips to try to look the part. "Aww Haruhi! Do I detect a hint of... jealousy?" Tamaki nudged her playfully. "NOT even in the SLIGHTEST." Haruhi snarled. "That girl... Vivi. she didn't look at anyone. NOT a single ONE of us!" Haruhi snapped, trying to control herself in the face of his stupid and irritating habits. "Oh... that... you saw that hu?" he blushed. Haruhi sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, hoping Tamaki was thankful there wasn't anything hard or heavy for her to hit him with.


	3. See No Evil

"Well... You see..." Tamaki stared at his feet, playing with the hem of his shirt to avoid looking at Haruhi, "The reason Vivi didn't look at you... And it's a perfectly good reason... Though it's no ones fault..." he trailed on, drawing it out. Haruhi grew impatient and snapped, "Just spill it and quit stalling!" she demanded.

Tamaki slowly raised his head, his eyes soft and sad, though not from the usual self pity when he wanted his friends to do something his way. "She's blind." he said, his voice echoing the emotions in his eyes. "Oh..." Haruhi uttered, a little surprised but she was surprised further when Tamaki went on and even more so by what he said next. "And it's my fault."

Now, Tamaki could be and generally was an idiot. This wasn't news to Haruhi at all, but she never thought he'd hurt anyone, much less to such an extent that left them impaired. "It's ok Tamaki-Senpai, lets go back to my apartment and get a cup of tea and talk about this calmly, alright?" Haruhi said with a gentle smile. She realised she had touched a raw nerve that had upset him and she was curious as to what he had meant by 'it's my fault'. Tamaki nodded slowly and together they went back to the apartment block and up to Haruhi's room, across the hall from Tamaki's. She got him settled by the table and quickly made the tea, bringing it in for him, already knowing how he liked it. "Here..." she said handing it to him and sitting down with her own. "I'm feeling much better... thanks." he said with a weak smile, Haruhi smiled back, "Good." she said softly.

Tamaki took a deep breath then started. "Vivi and I grew up together as kids in France. She was born out of wedlock and... unfortunately, her mother died in childbirth. She left Vivienne with my mother so we were practically raised together. I never got to meet him but her father is a member of the British Royal family and, should he not have any children, she will inherit the throne next... not that she wants to." he explained. "So? How does that make this your fault?" Haruhi asked, sipping her tea. "Well... when I was about thirteen I was kidnapped... Vivi got caught up in the incident with me. I remember waking up and we were bound to a chair each in a warehouse with our eyes blindfolded. I started crying... like a baby. I was terrified. I practically wet myself. Then... I hear Vivi sing to calm me down. She was so soothing I calmed down a bit and decided to really act like the big brother... the Nii-chan I had asked her to call me. I wanted her to be proud. So I started to struggle to get free. I rocked back and forth in my chair. I didn't know her chair was bound to mine... With me rocking side to side, her chair rocked too. We finally tipped over as the police came. We fell sideways... knocking a vat of bleach over. It soaked her hair, her face... her blindfold. Her eyes didn't stand a chance with how strong it was." Tamaki said slowly, staring at his tea cup.

Haruhi looked at him in horror but also pity. "Tamaki-senpai..."she uttered, wanting to offer him comfort. "She was taken into hospital straight away. When she was released a month or so later she looked completely different. She'd been born with Brown hair the colour of chocolate but the bleach had damaged it so much that it was now blood red. Her eyes... well... they were now only for show really... They had been a beautiful light brown but now look golden. Her skin is so pale because of it and also because of the need to shield her eyes from damage of the sun, she rather stays inside than go out in sunglasses." He added. "But that's not your fault!" Haruhi protested, watching him closely. "No... maybe not." Tamaki said with a weak smile as he looked across at her. "But even though she had been hurt because of me she always kept pushing me... kept helping me find the right path. When my grandmother was ungraciously removed from the family business I spoke to Vivi on the phone in the weeks that passed. She advised me on what to do... we talked for ages and... together we understood everything. She couldn't fix it... she was in England hidden away but because of her I refused to see my mother and sided with my grandmother to prove to her that I was loyal and that I love her." he said with a weak smile.

"You know, she doesn't blame me, or hate me, or hold it against me or anything but I just... I see how it affects her." he sighed. "I hate it." he said through gritted teeth. Haruhi put a comforting hand on his arm. "You know, she has a beautiful voice... you'll have probably seen her singing or heard her singing. She takes popular Japanese or french songs and translates them to English... they're getting quite popular in japan now too. But... because of her sight she can't perform live. It's just not safe." he sighed softly. "So why is she here in America then?" Haruhi asked. "I told her to visit when she wanted... she took it literally and... she kinda enrolled here..." he confessed.

Haruhi nodded and though on it a moment as she finished her tea. "Well... I think she's nice enough. I won't say anything to the others but you can't both keep it hidden." she said finally. "She doesn't... she's wearing the blonde wig and contacts because she doesn't want to be recognised. That's why I keep her name shortened to Vivi. If I went around calling her Vivienne Rose then she'd get a lot more publicity than she wants." He explained. At the mention of Vivi's full name Haruhi's eyes widened. "Hu? You ok?" Tamaki asked, looking at her. "Uh... yeah. sorry... yeah. I just... yeah, now you mention it... I do recognise the name..." Haruhi uttered, blushing very slightly and looking away. "Well... I think I'm going to go back to my apartment and make a start on my assignment." Tamaki said standing up and stretching, having finished his tea by now.

"Thanks for talking with me about this Haruhi... I feel a lot better now I've shared it but... please, keep this between us ok? I'll try to take you to see Vivi again soon if you like... Well, good night Haruhi." he beamed from the door. "Yeah, I'd like that a lot. Thanks Senpai. See you tomorrow." Haruhi smiled and went to close the door behind him. She knew though, that as soon as Tamaki got back to his room he would be mulling over what he had done and what had been said. She also knew there was nothing she could do about this though so she cleaned up and set about making her dinner and also trying to do her assignment too.


	4. Hear No Evil

The next day Haruhi prepared to leave for her college lectures and, as always, she went to knock on Tamaki's door so they could leave together but there was already a note pinned there for her. It read:

_'Good morning dear Haruhi!_

_I'm sorry but I'm not in right now, I'm busy helping Vivi prepare for her first day of college!_

_Eek I'm so excited for her! XD_

_I can't wait! She's so cute!_

_I really hope you can both become good friends, best friends even!_

_Aww you'd look so cute together!_

_I know you'll miss not having me there when you go in and start class but have no fear, I won't be late!_

_I promise to you, my dear Haruhi, I will be on time, present and correct, to enjoy class with you._

_Until then, do not despair my dear Haruhi!_

_I look forwards to seeing you in class looking as adorable as ever!_

_All my love, The King,_

_~Tamaki~ 3_

_P.s. Don't get too jealous, you're still my favourite piglet 3 '_

That is what Tamaki had written... and thanks to the graces of skim-reading, this is what Haruhi read,

_'Haruhi,_

_I'm busy helping Vivi get ready for college._

_See you in class,_

_Tamaki.'_

Of course, Tamaki would have been heartbroken to know she had read it this way but Haruhi didn't have time to read the huge amount of lovey-dovey trash he'd written... and as though to prove a point she pulled the note down, screwed it up and tossed it into the communal bin on her way down the hall as she headed to meet up with the others before class.

Hikaru, Kaoru, Hunny and Mori were stood waiting in the usual spot for her underneath the shade of two large horse chestnut trees. They smiled and waved at her from where they stood and Haruhi smiled back. "Should we wait for Kyouya?" Haruhi asked as the two older boys started towards the huge building that housed their chosen college choices. "Uh-uh, we saw Tama-chan and Kyouya-chan over at the drama building a little while ago." Hunni said and Mori nodded with his usual comment of 'yeah'. "What do they want with the drama building?" Kaoru asked. "They better not be sabotaging our hard work!" Hikaru said fiercely. "I don't think so. They had miss Vivi-chan with them, right?" Hunny said and looked to Mori for confirmation at which point his cousin simply nodded. Silent. Like always.

Haruhi frowned as they continued on towards the buildings. She left the four guys at the entrance to the building and went to her lecture, expecting to see Tamaki run over as dramatically as ever or Kyouya turn up out of nowhere like he occasionally did. When she finally found her chair she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous and slightly annoyed that they hadn't turned up on time. Finally, just as the bell went to signal the start of the college day they turned up and found their seats. She smiled in relief at seeing them. As they couldn't talk through the lecture Haruhi kept her questions bottled up to ask afterwards, as frustrating as it was to do so.

When she finally got the chance she marched over to them, "So, how did it go getting her there? and I wasn't aware Kyouya-senpai was aware of all this and willing to help too." she said as the two males packed up their things to prepare to leave. "But of course." Kyouya said simply. "Kyouya is my best friend. He knows practically everything about me so obviously he already knows about Vivi." Tamaki agreed. "But still, its best if we keep what you know from the others. If they want to find out then let them do so themselves. It would provide good mental stimulation for them." Kyouya agreed as they left the room. "Do you want to come meet her with us again Haruhi? We're going to hang with her in the drama room during break." Tamaki offered. "Can I study while we're there?" Haruhi asked, looking from Tamaki to Kyouya and back again. "Of course. We'd be offended if you didn't and Miss Vivi would be most upset if you had gone out of your way to see her and put off something you would rather be doing anyway in order to see her." Kyouya said.

With that the three friends headed over to the drama buildings. There was a good reason they were called the 'drama buildings' rather than the expressive arts block or otherwise. And that was because of how they looked. They were weird and wacky shapes. Some made out of glass, others out of wood, one looked like a spear of rock thrust out of the ground with jagged edges. They were all amazing and impressive but a bit over the top with the loud colours thrown onto the sides which made them look dramatic... or attention seeking as Haruhi privately thought. "Oh" That's right! We were supposed to meet Hunny and Mori after lectures..." Tamaki said thoughtfully. "Haruhi and I will go meet them. You go on ahead and warn Vivi that we'll probably all be coming on mass." Kyouya told him as they all stopped. "Ok, well if you're sure... see you soon!" Tamaki smiled and hurried off towards the drama buildings.

"Jealous?" Kyouya asked with a grin. "Not even remotely." Haruhi replied bluntly, frowning at him. "Good. Though the relationship between those two is something to be envious of." He mused as they walked. "I guess maybe but it doesn't bother me. If anything, I'm glad he's got someone else to occupy his time with. It'll be good for him." She agreed. As of yet, the twins were no where to be seen but that was no surprise. Lately they'd been working back in class over breaks and lunches to finish their 'masterpieces' so no one really expected them to turn up anywhere anytime soon.

"Hey guys! Sorry we're late! Our lectures ran over." Hunni said running over with Mori who walked casually behind as they headed back to the drama buildings that Tamaki had rushed into eagerly like a puppy. "Don't worry. We're not terribly late. Tamaki is keeping Miss Vivi company and we're both heading there now." Kyouya explained. "Tama-chan is hanging with Vivi-chan? Why didn't he say? I wanna hang out too! Takashi, you wanna hang out too?" Hunny asked excitedly. Mori smiled slightly which usually meant yes. "Well alright then, shall we?" Kyouya asked as they now all walked with purpose into the drama buildings to find Tamaki and Vivi.


	5. Speak No Evil

The group soon found Tamaki but not the way they had intended. As they walked down one of the many halls they soon heard a beautiful piece of piano music. Naturally, Haruhi assumed it was Tamaki as all he seemed really talented at was the piano. So when they opened the doors she was surprised to see Tamaki leaning against the piano casually with his eyes closed. It was Vivi who was sat playing the piano. She had her eyes closed and was clearly very into what she was doing as she didn't notice any of them enter... Not that she could given the circumstances.

Tamaki opened an eye and looked at his friends. He smiled and pressed his finger to his lips as she continued to play the beautiful piece. Haruhi took a seat and so did Hunni, Mori stood up beside his cousin and the three listened in silence. It was beautiful. Sad and slow but with perfected precision fingering so the melody tugged at their heartstrings and swayed their emotions. It was so relaxing and beautiful that it took them a moment to notice that she had stopped and even then it was only because Tamaki had walked over to them with a huge grin on their face. "Cheer up." Tamaki smiled at Haruhi as he offered the three of them a tissue each. "No need to cry." He grinned.l

"But, it was just... just... so beautiful!" Hunni cried, clinging to Tamaki when he handed him a tissue. "Thank you... I'm glad you liked it." Vivi said standing up slowly and bowing in respect. "Where did you learn such a pretty piece?" Haruhi asked. "Hmm? Erm... I think it was from your mother, right Tama?" Vivi replied, turning to Tamaki for confirmation. Tamaki smiled and nodded, "Yep, that's right. Back when we were knee-high to a grasshopper." he said happily. Haruhi found herself smiling brightly and, glancing back, noticed that the others around her were smiling too. Normally Tamaki's words couldn't make everyone smile at once... unless they were all girls after his attention or he was making them laugh. But that small agreeing, that small comment, that small glimpse into his past that he had shared with Vivi and his mother that made him smile so naturally. Yes. That alone brought warmth and happiness to his friends.

That happiness wasn't destined to last long though as the angelic peace was soon disturbed by the double trouble that was the bored twins. Hikaru and Kaoru threw the double doors open with the dramatic flare that they were already notorious for, even now having only been at the college for a short while. "So! This is where you've been hiding out!" Hikaru exclaimed, a bundle of cloth thrown casually over his shoulder. "We should have known we'd find you here." Kaoru added, a pair of cute shoes in his hand. "Well it's not like we were hiding where we were from you." Kyouya said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Yeah, we did come to the room you guys were just studying in." Tamaki added. "In theory you should have still been here, s'not our fault you weren't." Hunni agreed. "We didn't know you wouldn't be here." Mori nodded. "You should have been, it's not our fault." Haruhi said, joining in.

The twins really weren't impressed but shrugged it off, "Ah well, we're all here now. So what you guys been doing?" Kaoru asked curiously. "Just hanging out." Haruhi shrugged. "What do you mean 'just hanging out'?" Hikaru persisted. "Uh-oh! Sounds like someone's jealous of you again Viv!" Tamaki giggled. "Please! Jealous? Of her?! Not in this life time." Hikaru snapped in disgust. "Only thing anyone could be jealous about concerning her is that she has the perfect figure to dress up." Kaoru said, as ever, the younger twin was still generally the calmer one and most likely to compromise although he did still share the views of his brother.

"If you dislike miss Vivi so greatly then why are you still here?" Kyouya asked folding his arms. "It's like Kaoru said, she's the perfect size to dress up." he grinned devilishly, a smile his brother shared as they walked over towards Vivi. She sighed softly but stood up. "Viv...?" Tamaki said her name questioningly. Vivi just shrugged with a soft smile on her face as she stood still as the twins double checked their measurements and then handed her the clothing and shoes and guided her (pushed her 'gently') to the back of the stage where she had been stood beside the piano. Once there they drew the stage curtains to give her some privacy but otherwise left her to change. "Well at least they're more polite about asking her to change than they were with me..." Haruhi grumbled. "Only because of that one." Kyouya said and motioned over to Tamaki who was stood glaring at the twins from beside the piano. He was gripping the musical instrument in question a lot harder than intended and his knuckles had gone white.

While the twins pretended not to notice this it did mean they left Vivi to change by herself in peace. A few minutes later she reappeared wearing the twins 'master piece' well... their master piece for now until they grew bored of it. She was wearing a cute, pale blue skirt made up of numerous thin layers. The layers were so sheer that one by itself would give a person more sight than just a silhouette of her legs. The layers overlapped, starting in very short at the hips and lengthening so that the bottom was practically see-through while the top was dense enough to give her dignity. It was tied at her hip in a simple but cute knot with the remaining material let to hang freely. On her feet she wore a pair of cute peep-toe wedges in white and her top was a simple silky blouse in a matching colour to the skirt. Hikaru undid the blouse, gathered the two bottom edges and tied it in a knot above her belly button.

"There, what do you guys think?" Hikaru asked stepping back. "It needs accessories, obviously, but for our first piece of the year, it's not bad right?" Kaoru asked. "Vivi-chan looks adorable in anything!" Hunni exclaimed happily. Mori nodded. "She does seem she suits anything you put on her." Kyouya agreed. "Viv? How do you feel about it?" Tamaki asked her gently. Vivi tilted her head down, apparently looking at how she was dressed. Slowly she turned around, her eyes half closed as she felt the material move and then, after one turn, she stopped and smiled at Tamaki. Tamaki smiled back and looked at the twins, "Yeah it's a great piece!" he agreed. The silent exchange between Vivi and Tamaki confused the twins greatly so they looked at one another. "O... kay..." Hikaru said slowly after a moment. "You can wear that home, just bring it back in tomorrow." Kaoru said to her. Vivi smiled and nodded. The twins felt very creeped out by now and decided to take their leave, "Well... see you guys after college." Hikaru said as he left with his twin beside him.

"Little whirlwinds of mischief. Thats what they are." Tamaki grumbled.


	6. Devils Work

"So what are they really doing that involves you Vivi-chan?" Hunny asked, sitting on the edge of the stage and swinging his legs back and forth as he looked back at her. "Well, the students doing fashion are in charge of creating not only a few pieces for the cat walk runway thing that the college does at the end of each year to show off the talents to prospective people in the fashion industry, but they are also in charge of creating the costumes for this years drama production." she explained. "Ooooh! A production!" Tamaki's whole face seemed to light up as Vivi nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, what's it about? I'm not really a fan of watching theatrical works but I might have already read it as a book." Haruhi asked. "It's nothing special, just Romeo and Juliet. Kind of boring." Vivi shrugged. "And let me guess! You got the lead role! That's my girl! Sooo proud of you!" Tamaki hugged Vivi and rubbed his head against her face. Vivi chuckled a little but pushed him away, "No, I didn't. I didn't want the part of Romeo or Juliet or whatever. I'm going to be Juliet's understudy and I'll be a friend of Romeo's at the ball but other than that I'm not in it." she explained. "I'll be picking the music for everything." she added proudly.

Haruhi, Hunny and Mori looked at her a little surprised but Tamaki and Kyouya smiled. "Sounds like a reasonable and safe plan to me." Kyouya said and Tamaki half-hugged her proudly. "Yeah, I thought so too. The group decided to do it all in Japanese so I'm practicing my dialect and speech... can you tell?" Vivi asked with a shy smile. "I thought you were doing it to not be left out!" Hunny said honestly but then added, "I was surprised at how well you were doing though Vivi-chan otherwise I'd have tried my English for you!" he beamed. Vivi blushed slightly, "Thanks Hunny-senpai. I really am trying. But it is easier with you all around and being so considerate. I miss what the twins say half the time because they both just chatter on and on at the same time." she laughed softly. Kyouya nodded, "They do that to try to hide the difference in their voices and it pretty much always works." he explained. Vivi looked thoughtful for a moment, "Really? But... they sound so different... are they identical or something?" she asked. Everyone looked a little surprised but Tamaki laughed, "They try to be perfectly identical but that stuff doesn't work on you." he said. "But don't tell them that 'kay? It'll be all of our secret." he added softly. Everyone nodded at that.

Haruhi smiled. It was nice to see how all of Tamaki's normally-unwanted-or-wasted energies were being used to give Vivian support. Normally when he was helping someone out he tended to look in Haruhi's direction for some kind of praise at how well he was doing, like a puppy would. But with Vivi it was different. He was happier to just help her and support her even though she was already such a strong young person who didn't need the help.

"So is it still ok for me to come over tonight after college?" Tamaki asked, breaking Haruhi's chain of thought. "Why? what's going on tonight?" Hunny asked curiously. Tamaki, for once, seemed to hesitate whether or not to tell them but Vivi told them anyway, "Tama's coming over for a movie night!" she said with a smile. "Oooh! A movie night! Will there be popcorn?!" Hunny asked, his eyes lighting up at the thought. "Yep, but only two types. I'm kind of fussy." Vivi said. "Hmmm... only two? Then... is one Toffee?" Hunny asked slowly. Vivi nodded, "Yep. Bet you can't guess the other one though." she smiled. Hunny and Haruhi thought for a moment. "Butterscotch?" Hunny suggested. "Nope. If you get it you're all welcome to gatecrash." She said. "...salt." Haruhi said slowly. "What?" Tamaki asked slowly. "Well... my favorite popcorn is just the salted type... though not a lot of people like it. Is it salted?" Haruhi asked. Vivian laughed, "You got it!" she beamed. "Really?" Haruhi asked but she wasn't answered as Hunny interrupted, "So we're really allowed to go to your apartment and watch movies with you and Tama-chan?" he asked. "Yes, of course you're allowed, if you want to that is." she said.

"With no disrespect. How does a blind person 'watch' a movie?" Mori asked, surprising everyone with a question none of them had considered. "Ah... well they're really old movies I'd seen thousands of times before when I lived in France with Tama and they're all practically Operas or musicals so I don't have to watch anything. Even before I lost my eyesight, Tama and I would stay up late, lying on his mama's bed, our eyes closed and just listen to the beautiful music held in those old tapes." She told them and, Haruhi realised, it must have been true as Tamaki was blushing slightly having obviously thought she had forgotten this little memory they shared.

Fortunately he was saved from anyone mentioning his embarrassment as the bell rang. Vivi frowned and glared at the source of the irritatingly loud little bell that was in their room. 'She might not see with those eyes,' thought Haruhi, 'But she gives scary deadly looks just like Kyouya-Senpai... I'd hate to be on the receiving end of one!'

"Well, time for next class. Take it easy ok Viv?" Tamaki said pulling the girl's head into a loose hug and kissing the top of her head. "We'll be sure to come for the Movie night party Vivi-chan! Takashi and I'll bring some snacks too, right Takashi?" Hunny beamed, smiling at his cousin. "Yeah. It'll be a blast." Mori nodded. "I've not much better to do tonight so you can count me in too." Kyouya said, writing in his little black book as usual. "You're coming too aren't you Haruhi-chan?" Vivi asked. "Yeah, sounds like fun." she agreed. "So we'll see you tonight Viv, oh! And don't let those nasty perverted twins get to you! They're sneaky little buggers." Tamaki said having raised a hand to his mouth as though to keep the others from hearing him though though everyone agreed with his comment... well the sneaky part at least. The perverted and nasty were optional depending on the twin's moods that day.

"Our ears are burning!" Hikaru's voice came from the door behind them. "Someone's obviously talking about us again." Kaoru's voice joined them and the group turned to see the twins stood there, leaning on either side of the double door's frame. "Can't say I blame them though, we're the most exciting thing happening in this drama room." Hikaru shrugged and Kaoru nodded. Haruhi sighed, "Come on, lets get to business class." she grumbled, leaving with the others. "Hika-chan, Kao-chan, play nice with Vivi-chan 'kay? Tama-chan worries about her lots so it's up to you guys to make sure she's alright." Hunny said, pausing at the door on his way out. Though he was the shortest... and cutest, of the group, he was also the eldest so naturally had that much respect from the others when it came to it. That and he also spoke quite knowledgeably when not having to entertain girls. From his cute little position where nothing but cuteness was expected, he'd grown quite capable of understanding people's emotions and feelings about others though, since this wasn't cute, he often kept it to himself. But now was one of those few times he used it.

Hikaru and Kaoru looked at one another then back at him, "Yeah... don't worry." Hikaru said slowly. "We wouldn't hurt her, not when she means so much to the boss." Kaoru said. Hunny smiled and walked away though he felt nervous that only Kaoru had said they wouldn't hurt her. Hikaru was liable to take a joke too far and tended to ignore Kaoru when he was getting bored. Hikaru was, after all, the ringleader between them.


	7. Everybody loves a touch of Drama!

Those thoughts plagued Hunny's thoughts the rest of the day, even more so when Hikaru, Kaoru and Vivi didn't turn up for lunch. Tamaki looked depressed by her absence and thus the whole mood of their group was dampened... apart from Kyouya who didn't pay it much thought though Haruhi liked to think he seemed a little gloomier. "Well she didn't say she was going to join us for lunch, so she's no obligation to be present." Kyouya said having nearly finished his meal while Tamaki hadn't started and the others had only eaten a few mouthfuls.

"That's not what I'm worried about. Vivi is a big girl. She can take care of herself... usually." Tamaki said quite seriously. This tone of voice alone caused the others to look at him. When Tamaki was serious it meant he was worried. "The twins?" Haruhi offered when no one else spoke. Tamaki nodded, "Yeah... they can sometimes take their jokes... just a bit too far." he mused. Fortunately their worries weren't proven true as the twins walked in, picked their lunch and came to sat down. "Where have you two been?!" Tamaki demanded, his eyes wide at their nonchalant attitude. "Aww, was Tono worried about us?" Hikaru teased. "We had to stay back because the drama group were practicing. We needed to see if the fabric we chose looked right." Kaoru explained to Haruhi who had rolled her eyes at Hikaru's response. "That's it? That's all there was to it?" Tamaki persisted, leaning over the table and almost spilling his drink in the process, just to put pressure on them.

"Well dur, of course it is." Hikaru said. "What else would we have been doing?" Kaoru added. "We don't always goof off in class unlike you Boss." they said together. Tamaki was a little taken back by this but surprised everyone by not over reacting but slowly sitting down, "There are plenty of other things you two trouble makers could have been up to..." he hissed through gritted teeth. "Well excuuuse us for not doing what you expected boss." Hikaru wafted his hand and started eating in unison with his twin. "...Hika-chan, Kao-chan, did you leave Vivi-chan alone?" Hunny cut to the chase surprising the others at the table a little at his direct approach. "Yeah of course. The boss made such a fuss of her that I figured she doesn't need us messing up her life when she has him." Hikaru said. "I was surprised but she's actually kind of talented for someone who grew up with Tono. I expected her to be kinda thick." Kaoru said honestly, tapping his head slightly as he said 'thick'.

It took a few moments, and Haruhi actually caught Kyouya counting down the seconds, before Tamaki realised what they were saying. "Are you calling me a stupid? Slow? Idiotic?!" He demanded, standing up in anger. "That's what we've been saying for what, three years now? and you're only just hearing us?" the twins replied in their nonchalant way. Tamaki's eye twitched and he screwed up his face. The whole group, bar the twins, were watching him to see what his come-back would be. "YEAH well, if I'm the stupid one then how come you're the ones not getting invited to Vivi's for popcorn and movies tonight!?" he shouted triumphantly. Haruhi let her face meet the table as his come back was too much to lift her hand to her face. "...idiot..." she heard Kyouya sigh under his breath. "Why would we want to do that?" Hikaru asked bluntly. "If we wanna watch movies we rent out a cinema complex on the first day its launched or buy it on the day of it's dvd release and watch it in HD 3D at home in our private cinema on BluRay." Kaoru shrugged. Tamaki slowly sat down, realising that he'd failed.

"Well, whatever, have fun tonight watching trash with that odd-ball crawler friend of yours." Hikaru said as he and Kaoru were about to get up to leave. "That's not on, Hikaru! You can't make fun of people just because they're different to you." Haruhi snapped, finally getting irritated with them for speaking about Vivi like that when she wasn't there and hadn't done anything to provoke this. "But it's true! She is odd." Kaoru said. "She asked if she could sit with us while the rest were practicing lines in stead of joining in with them." Hikaru agreed with his brother. "Did it ever occur to you idiots that maybe she's just trying to make friends? You know, not everyone gives a damn about your money or family!" Haruhi snapped and stormed off.

Tamaki got up, "That's it, run after her boss. Good luck calming her down." Hikaru teased with a shrug. "I'm not going after Haruhi. She's a big girl, capable of taking care of herself." he said firmly and left the table. The others ignored the fight and didn't get involved as they finished eating or just got up and slowly left for their next class. The twins soon found themselves alone at the table even though they had finished first, everyone had left. They'd just made excuses and left. "What just happened there Hikaru?" Kaoru asked, feeling lost as to what had happened. Hikaru looked around slightly, "I have no idea." he admitted.

Later that night the majority of the Host club gathered at the base of their college appartment block and made their way over to Vivi's block. They made their way up to her penthouse suit and knocked at the door. "Accueillir..." her voice floated through the door. "What?" Hunny asked, having not taken French during school. "You should know this one Hunny-senpai... she said 'Welcome...'." Tamaki smiled at him. Hunny beamed broadly, "Oh! I know that one!" he grinned and the door guard let them in. Tamaki showed them down to the large bedroom they'd be watching the movie in. It was set up in a typical western style, with a twist of french nostalgia and looked very cosy. Vivi had brought out a lot of duvets, pillows, cushions and throws and placed them all on a large and comfortable futon that was at the base of her large four-poster bed.

Vivi was already waiting for them, sat on the edge of her bed with the remote in one hand. "Hello everyone, Sorry I missed you at lunch, we were held up with class." she apologised. "It's alright, the twins told us about it." Tamaki said happily and sat down near her as the others filed in and took a seat on the futon. "Did they bother you?" Hunny asked as he started picking at the sweet popcorn. "Not really. They were just teasing some girls in the class but that's a given thing with immature boys." she replied. "Why do you ask?" she added. "Oh... no reason. We just want to make sure you're doing ok, ya know?" Hunny replied with a broad smile. "Fair enough... Well, shall we get this movie fest started?" Vivi smiled and the group agreed with a cheer. With the confirmation, Vivi turned the movie on and they all settled in to watch it.

Half way though the movie, Haruhi glanced back at the bed and, true to his word, Vivienne was lying with her eyes closed beside Tamaki, who also had his eyes closed, just listening to the movie. She smiled to herself as she though about how nice it was that they shared little things like this. Tamaki wanted to share her pain, he wanted to support her and help her how ever he could, even though so far it had been Vivi helping him, so even doing little things like 'seeing' things from her point of view like this clearly helped bring them together.

The evening passed and they watched three films together this way and even had dinner with Vivi as she ordered room service. But finally the evening was over and everyone had to get back to their apartment. "We should do this again sometime." Haruhi found herself saying as she'd enjoyed it a lot more than she'd thought, probably because Vivi had babysat Tamaki for a change. "Yes, we should. I'd really like that." Vivi smiled happily as she stood by the front door to see them out. "We'll come and play again real soon Vivi-chan! And who knows? We might be able to bring Hika-chan and Kao-chan with us too!" Hunny gave her a big hug. "That'd be nice but I won't hold my breath." Vivi chuckled as she shook hands with Mori. "Thank you for inviting me. It was quite enjoyable." Kyouya said, kissing the back of Vivi's hand to say goodbye. "The pleasure is all mine Kyouya." she replied with a broad smile. "You going to be ok getting to bed?" Tamaki asked her, the last to leave. "Oh yeah, no problem." Vivi said, wafting a hand to emphasis it was no problem. Tamaki didn't seem so sure but kissed her cheek like an older brother, "Good Night Onee-chan." he said. "Good night frère aîné." She replied, using the french words for 'older brother' rather than using the Japanese equivalent.

Once everyone had gone, Vivi shut the door and locked it. She stood there a while with her head pressed to the door as the feeling of loneliness and darkness came flooding back to her. She already missed hearing their voices echo through the hall... it was painful and quiet. She quickly took herself off to bed and hid under the coverers on her huge bed with only her green plush rabbit for comfort.


End file.
